The Pain of Growing Up
by LivaLittleLurve
Summary: Angela and company move to Harmonica Town for a better life, where she meets the boy of her dreams, but who has a shocking secret. Contains Molly, Kevin, and Kasey.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is one of my first fanfics so I hope it goes well. I will post pairings soon but I'm still thinking on it. Angela and Molly's pairings were tough for me not because it was hard for me to pick, but because they are nearly always picked when the story contains the four main characters from AP. Soooo…. Sorry?

Summary: Angela and company move to Harmonica Town for a better life, where she meets the boy of her dreams, but who has a shocking secret. Contains Molly, Kevin, and Kasey and I'll post the pairings soon.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"Say it again, and see what I do. Go ahead, I **dare **you to."

I grin at my older by 5 minutes brother, Kasey. "Are we-"

"Angela Diane Monroe, quit antagonizing your brother!" Mom said giving me the 'look' in the car's mirror.

I sighed and rested against the back of the car hatch. "But I'm so bored! And why do I have to sit in the back anyways?"

Kevin, my step-brother turned in his seat to smirk at me. "Because you're the smallest of us."

"Shut up dork!"

"Behave you two." Frank warned.

"Yes Papa." We both chimed.

We weren't always this snappish, but after spending 2 days in a car that was too small for our family we were all a bit tired. Mom and Frank, my Step-Papa, were in the front, Kasey, Kevin, and Molly were in the middle seats, while I had drawn the short straw and was stuffed in the back along with the rest of our things.

"When will we be there?" Molly asked.

"It's just a few more miles." Frank replied. He and Mom had been married for nearly 3 years now but I had known him, Molly, and Kevin for much longer.

The 4 of us had grown up together and were extremely close. When Mom and Frank got married we moved into a bigger house so we had more room. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of money, so we were moving again.

Frank's been having a bad year. Business wasn't exactly booming at the music store, so he had to sell the shop to some guy who owned a coffee chain. Things continued to go downhill when Mom's 'bestseller' turned out to be a big fluke that the editors said could use some work. Between that and Mom and Frank having to get jobs at minimum wage (they refused to let us get ones to help out, claiming that we needed to focus on school work) life was really sucking for us. And then Step-Papa saw the ad in the newspaper.

**WANTED**

**Owner to run small shop in Harmonica Town. **

**For more information call xxx-xxx-xxxx.**

The next thing we know, we're packing up and heading out of the city to a town that had as many people as my high school had students. We were all pretty mad, me, Kasey, Kevin, and Molly I mean. We loved the city; it's where we grew up and where our friends were. We all hung out with the same group: the anime freaks (geeks, nerds it really doesn't matter, point is that we weren't considered normal by the other high schoolers).

Anime was a huge deal in my life. I started watching it when I was 12, after some stuff went down between my Mom and Dad and he left us, and introduced it to everyone else. Before long we were going to Anime Cons and Cosplaying and people were avoiding us because again, we were 'freaks'.

Now that we were moving to a small town, I doubt we would find anyone like us there. What's worse was that we were going into our Senior year (with the exception of Kevin, who was a Junior). We would hardly get a chance to get used to a new school before having to go to College or move out.

"We're here!" Mom calls out excitedly.

I snap out of it and take a look at my new home. Harmonica was a cluster of pastel color buildings built on a large hill. Frank drove down a narrow road until he reached the other side of town and stopped at 3 buildings stacked on top of each other.

"This is it." He announced.

We all climbed out (I actually tumbled out because my legs were numb). "Where's the shop?" Kasey asked.

"It's up there." Frank pointed to the building on the top.

Kevin frowned. "So where's the house?"

Step- Papa shot a nervous glance at Mom. "Actually, this it is too."

Several seconds pass before there was a reaction.

"Aw come on!"

"You can't be serious!"

"Please tell me you're joking, Papa."

"You promised we'd have more room!"

"It's not as small as you think." Frank insisted. "Come on, I'll show you."

He led us up the stairs to our building and unlocked it, letting us in. The first room was the store. I always loved being in the music shop and in it again or something similar to it was nice. The place was arranged just like the store in the city: shelves lined the walls waiting for instrument, in a far corner was a grand piano, in the other was the cash register, and in the middle were more shelves for books and music supplies.

Step- Papa walked over to the far wall where a door was. 'This is where our living quarters are." He opened the door and led us into the living room, where there were several stacks of boxes. He walked over to a stack. "These are Molly and Angela's; your room is over there." He points to a door on the left. "The boys' are on the right."

"Come on Angie let's go see.' Molly grabbed my hand and dragged me to our new room.

Molly was the only one of the 4 of us that was somewhat excited about moving. She was shy but really liked meeting people.

Our room was a dark purple with a lime green accent wall. The furniture: 2 beds, 2 dressers, and a desk, were painted black. There was one window that had an ocean view.

"I guess this is okay." I flopped down on my bed. "I miss the city though."

Molly smiled and sat next to me. "It's not so bad, we've never been out of the city before and besides, at least we get our own room and don't have to share with the guys."

"I know," I sighed. "But I miss our friends. And me and Chelsea were planning on dressing up as Liz and Patty for the first day of school. I was even going to dye my hair!"

"You'd better not." Mom walked in carrying a box. "I like your hair the way it is. And I'm sure you'll find some friends here as well."

I snort. "I doubt that."

"Anyways, you guys need to go down to the school tomorrow and enroll. And finish unpacking too." She turned to go out before glancing over her shoulder. "Don't forget, that you also have to help Frank unpack the shop."

I groan. "Can't we do that tomorrow?"

Mom smiled. 'The faster we unpack the faster we can open the shop." She reminded us.

"Alright." Molly stood and we followed her out to the living room where the guys were already waiting.

Kevin had his phone out and was glaring at it. "Hey, I'm not getting a signal."

Frank stuck his head out of the shop. "About that, our old phone company doesn't come out this far, so now we have to use a home phone."

"Oh come on!"

* * *

**Love it? Hate it? Please tell me in a review and I don't mind if you criticize.**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Favorites and alerts already? You guys make this look easy. :) Thanks so much for your support and here's the next chapter.

_Cause every time we touch I feel the static_

_And every time we kiss I reach for the sky_

_Can't you hear my heart beat so? _

_I can't let you go_

_I want you in my life_

I groan and crack open my eyes as morning sunlight filters into the room. I rolled over on my bed to see Molly brushing her hair and singing along to Cascada.

"Morning." She says to me smiling in the mirror.

I make a face at the radio. "The remix is so much better."

She threw her brush at me. "It is not!"

I grin and easily dodge the torpedo while falling off the bed. Before Molly can throw anything else, I quickly crawl into the living room where Mom and Frank were. Frank was reading the newspaper while Mom sat at the table scribbling in her notebook. I tiptoe behind her and try to read what she's written over her shoulder, but she snaps the book shut.

"No peeking!" She scolded.

I pout. "But why not?"

"You can read it once it's out on the shelves of the general store. By the way, I met a couple who runs the store and they're pretty nice people. They have a daughter your age; maybe you should go and introduce yourself."

"Not this again." I groan and flop down on the couch. "It's too early in the morning to be going anywhere."

Step- Papa gently bopped me on the head with his newspaper. "You should listen to your mother; she's trying to help. Besides, you need to enroll anyways and it won't kill you to explore the town a little."

"But I don't want to go alone!" I whine.

"Then take Molly with you." He suggested.

"That's a great idea!" I jump up from the couch just as my sister walked in. I grabbed her hand and started tugging. "Come on Molls let's go!"

"What?" She asked confused.

"Let's go enroll!"

"Um, sure Angie, but don't you think you should change first?"

I look down and see that I'm still in my P. J's. "Oh, right."

Completely dressed and 15 minutes later we stepped outside into the fresh Harmonica morning air.

"I like it here." Molly said. "It's so peaceful."

"OH MY GOSH! NOOBS!" A shriek pierced our ears and the next thing we know we're being tackled by a pink blur.

"Um, hi?' I say unsure of what to do.

"Maya! Quit strangling them to death!" A girl walked up the stairs to us. She wore a black tank top under a blue crop jacket and a red mini skirt with cowboy boots (A/N: in case you were wondering, I altered her appearance just a tad). She had long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail with light green eyes. "Sorry about that." She says, pulling the other girl off us. "Maya likes meeting new people."

The other girl had blonde hair too, but it was more of an orange color. It was short, shorter than mine and the bangs were braided into pigtails tied off with a red ribbon. She wore a short pink dress with a white apron over it and had very light blue eyes.

"I'm Kathy." Cowgirl says helping us up. "And that's Maya."

"Hiya!" Maya waves.

"I'm Angela and this is my sister, Molly." I say introducing us.

"Whoa! You guys look alike. Are you twins?" Maya asks.

Molly smiles at the girl. "Actually, we're just step- sisters." She corrects. "But Angela does have a twin brother, Kasey and I have a younger brother Kevin."

Kathy nods. "So where are they?"

I snort. "Probably still asleep. They won't wake up until noon at least."

"Where are you guys going?" Maya asks.

"Just to enroll in class and then to look around town."

"Great! Then we can be your tour guides!"

"Actually, Maya, we're supposed to be running errands for-"

Maya ignored her friend and pushed us down the stairs. "Let's GO!"

Enrolling was fairly easy. All we had to do was fill out a few applications and turn them in to the school secretary. We next followed the girls to the Tailor shop where an old lady worked. She was sweet and offered to make our backpacks for us.

"You should come back when my granddaughters are here." Shelly, the old lady, suggested. "They're in the city, visiting their parents, but they'll be back in time for school."

We left quickly after that and once outside, Kathy sighed with relief. "It's not that I don't like Luna and Candace." She explained. "It's just that Candace is really shy, like hide-in-a-corner-of-the-library-during-lunchtime shy. And Luna can be stuck up and have that better than you attitude and then turn bipolar and acts all sweet."

"I like Luna." Maya said skipping up the street. "She's fun and super nice and even helps with out with picking my outfits!"

Kathy shoots us a 'see what I mean' look as we follow the girl.

The next place we go is the Chloral Clinic where we meet an old Nurse, Irene, and her grandson, Jin the doctor.

"But how is that possible?" Molly asked once we had left. "Jin doesn't look any older than us, how can he be a doctor?"

"Oh that?" Kathy shrugged. "Jin just skipped a few grades that's all. By the way don't mention Jin to Gill, it's a touchy subject."

"Who's Gill?" I asked.

"He's the Mayor's son." Maya explained.

"Gill's a smart guy, but so is Jin.' Kathy continued. "The fact that Jin graduated before Gill ticks him off.

"Hey, speaking of which, shouldn't we go visit the Town Hall and introduce Molly and Angela?"

"No way!" Kathy shook her head. "Gill will insist on 'helping us' show them around and then he'll take 5 hours talking about the history of the town and crap." She shudders. "I went through that when I first got here and I'm not about to go through it again!"

"So where to next?" I ask.

"Well let's see…" Maya thought about it for a moment. "There's the Fishery… no wait, they're on a fishing trip… and Simon's Shop is closed for now… I know!" The girl clapped her hands. "Let's go to Toucan Island!"

"Actually, Maya we should probably go and see what your parents are doing instead." Kathy said gently. "Besides, it probably wouldn't be the best idea to go there anyways."

"Awww… why not?" She asked.

"You know…" Kathy glanced at us, seeming nervous.

Maya's eyes widened. "Oh right. Okay let's go to the Inn." The girl sped off with Kathy, me, and Molly following behind.

"What's so bad about Toucan Island?" Molly wandered aloud.

Kathy looked over her shoulder at us. "It's not that it's a bad idea; it's just that there's a girl who lives there and well…"

"She's mean." I assumed.

"No, nothing like that." She assured us. "Selena's pretty nice, but it's complicated. I'll explain later."

By this time we had reached the Inn. Inside, Maya was being scolded by a short dumpy old lady. "-And you were supposed to go to Marimba Farm for fresh, vegetables, but instead, I had to send Chase! Where have you been?"

The girl ducked her head. 'I'm sorry Gran." Maya said softly. 'I was just showing the newcomers around."

The lady glanced over Maya's shoulder. When she noticed us she smiled. "Oh, guests!" To our great surprise, she grabbed mine and Molly's hand, shaking them. "I'm Yolanda, Maya's Grandmother."

"I-it's nice to meet you." Molly stuttered surprised at the sudden change in mood.

"Yolanda smiled. "You must be our new neighbors." She said motioning to the ceiling. "Is it just you and your parents then?"

I shake my head. "Actually, we have 2 brothers, but I don't-"

BANG! We turned to see the door slam open and Kasey and Kevin ran in. "Hey! Where have you guys been?" Kasey shouted crossing the room to us.

"On second thought, here they are now." Molly sighed.

At that moment, the guys noticed the girls for the first time.

"Why, hello there." Kasey grinned and leaned closer to Kathy and Maya while they backed away slowly.

I groaned and smacked my forehead. "And those are our idiot brothers, Kasey and Kevin."

And that's when Grandma Kick- Butt switched on. "Excuse you?' She growled, glaring at my older brother.

Kasey smiled nervously. "Oh um hi there mam-"

"Oh cut the crap." Yolanda snapped. "Don't you think you're a little young to be looking at girls?"

We all paled. "Young?"

Maya flushed with embarrassment and sighed. 'Gran, why do you have to be so old- timey all the time?"

**I'll be mentioning Anime and music a lot in this since they're my 2 favorite things so sorry if it bugs anyone…**

**Love it? Hate it? Please let me know in a review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Pain of Growing up**

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: Another update, I was hoping I would be able to get in another one before school starts. I'll try and if get at least a short chapter by the end of the week. But that's an if cause I've got stuff I have to do, I'll be starting High School so my updates will probably few in between.**

**Pairings are now up! They're at the bottom so you should check it out. DON'T CHEAT! Just so that you're not confused, I am switching P. several times in this chapter.**

**Thanks for your helpful reviews!**

**\/**

_So tell, tell me the reason why_

_How could you do this to me?_

_You break my heart_

_And make me cry…_

I groan and poke my head through my not-so-sound proof barrier of a blanket and glare at my not-so-quiet sister, who was once again getting ready at an ungodly hour in the morning.

"Good morning." She said, grinning sheepishly.

"I hate you so much right now." I moaned. "And that stupid radio too."

I stumble to our door and go to open it only to be met with a slight… problem.

**CRASH!**

Molly's eyes widen as she peers over my shoulder at our now broken door lying in the floor. "Um, Angie?"

"I didn't do it, I swear!"

"Oh dear," Mom sighed, walking up. "Not again."

"Has this been happening a lot?" I asked.

"No not really," Frank picked the door up and dragged it out of the way. "The shop door however could use some work as well."

"Maybe you should call the Carpenters." Molly suggested.

We already tried that, but they're not answering." Mom turned to me. "Angie, could you perhaps go up to the Garmon Mine district and check on them?"

_I smiled sweetly at her. "Of course Mother, I would __**love **__to!"_

Yeah, like that would really happen.

"What? Why do I have to?" I whined. "Why can't Kasey or Kevin go?"

"Because, they're helping me with the shop." Frank replied. "And Molly can't go with you either." He added.

I shoot a look at Molly who avoided my gaze. "I already told Mom that I would go with her to Flute Fields today." She answered quietly.

I frowned. "Oh that's cold."

\/

**Molly's P.O.V**

"Have you ever seen so many green fields in your life?" Mom exclaimed, twirling around like a child. "I'll have to come out here with my journal; I can get so much inspiration from here!"

I smiled at as we walked across a bridge. Even before she and my dad married, I had always considered Melanie my mother. I don't really remember my real one, just that me and her looked alike and her laugh was contagious. She died a little after Kevin was born in a car crash. After that, Papa packed up and moved us to the city. Not long after I met Angie and Kasey and then Mrs. Monroe, or Melanie as she insisted I call her. It didn't surprise me when Papa and she got married when I was 15. They spent so much together (since their kids were friends) than most people that it was only a matter before they realized their feelings for each other. In fact, me and Angela spent hours discussing and planning the best wedding, down to the last table decoration. It had been a dream come true for us.

"Molly?" I snapped out of my train of thought and looked over at Mom.

"Yes?"

"Do you think these would be good in a soup?" She held up a couple of brown mushrooms that she had picked up off the side of the road.

I took them from her and looked them over. "I think so, if you used fish and some veggies too."

Mom nodded and pocketed them. "Well that takes care of supper. I'm glad we finally get to spend time together again since the move. I would've asked Angela to come along, but well… she seems to be awfully attached to you."

I sighed. "So you've noticed too."

Over the past week, since we'd arrived at Harmonica Town, me and Angie had mostly hung out with Kathy and Maya, but wherever I went, so did Angie. I didn't mind really, but sometimes I did worry.

"She's never acted like this before." I said.

Mom smiled sadly. "It's because she misses her friends. Whenever her Father left and made it quite clear that he didn't want any contact with us, she tried so hard to put up a front that she didn't care about him. Having Kasey, you, Kevin, and her friends helped out a lot but I think we might have messed that up by moving here." Her smile turned into a grimace. "Molly, be honest, do you kids hate it here?"

"No, of course not." I assured her. "I love it here and so does Angie, I know it."

Mom nodded again, relieved. "Of course and maybe now that she's got time to herself she can start getting used to living here."

"Yeah!" I agreed. "I guess those broken doors are a good th-… Hey, wait a minute, was that door really broken?"

She smiled slyly. 'Why Molly dear, where did you get an idea like that?"

/\

**Angela's P.O.V**

"When you cross the bridge, it's the first building on the right." I said reciting Frank's directions out loud.

I stood outside the shop, grinning triumphantly. And they said I couldn't follow instructions. I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Inside, the shop smelled of wood and sweat, not a good combination. The room I was in had a counter with a cash register in a corner, several work benches in another, and furniture all along the walls. There were 2 doors: one was on the opposite wall of the front door and the other was an open doorway leading to a kitchen. I walked over to the counter; there was no one here besides me.

"Hello?" I called, but no one answered. Tentavilly, I rung the bell on the counter but nothing happened. I was just about to leave when I heard a growl coming from the kitchen. Slowly, I turned in that direction to see the biggest white dog I had ever seen before. As it ran towards me, I screamed and jumped on top of the counter.

"N-nice doggie!" The dog growled again and jumped up, placing its 2 front paws on the counter and barked right in my face. I shrieked and fell off, hitting the ground. I closed my eyes and waited to be mauled but instead I felt something warm and wet slide across my cheek. I opened my eyes and laughed, he was licking me. Now I know how Ed felt when Alexander tackled him in FMA.

"Boss! Bad dog!" The dog was pulled away from me and I sat up, grateful to be able to move again.

I glance up at my savior and squeaked a little; he was pretty er… oh what the heck, **hot. **He had dark blue hair tied back in a flame-print bandana. He wore a brown vest over a white t-shirt and ripped up jeans. Amber cat-like eyes peered at me curiously as he helped me to my feet.

"Sorry about that." He apologized. "He gets a little excited meeting new customers." He leaned forward, studying me. "I don't think I've ever seen you before. Are you new here?"

I blush at how close he is and nodded. "Um yeah; my dad just bought the vacant store in Harmonica." I explained. "I'm Angela by the way."

"Cool!" He grinned. "I'm-"

"Luke!" A hefty man with dark blue hair and a mustache walked in through the back door. "Quit pestering the girl and get back to work."

Luke grimaced but went over to a work bench and started to fiddle with 2 pieces of wood.

The man turned back to me. "Good morning mam." He said politely. "I'm Dale the Carpenter and that's my son Luke. Is there something I can help you with?" I quickly explained the door situation to him. "Sounds like a simple fix; I'll get right on it."

Luke spoke up. "Hey, Pops while you're doing that, why don't I take Angela here and show her around?"

Dale studied him suspiously, before answering. "Alright, but boy, you better-"

"I know, I know." Luke muttered and grabbed me hand, dragging me outside. "I'm not that much of an idiot."

He let go of my hand once the door closed behind us. I quickly hid my reddening face. "So where to first?" I asked.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Let's just work our way down." He suggested leading the way to the next store.

\/

An hour later we headed to the last shop. A small orange haired girl burst through the doors and ran into Luke's arms. "Lukey!" She wailed. "Taylor's being mean to me!"

"Really? What did he do?" He asked.

"He said he couldn't play today 'cuz he was starting a seed delivery business." The girl sniffled.

"Don't worry Chloe." Luke squatted and let her down. "If he's smart, he'll be back."

"But I want someone to play with me now!" Chloe stomped her foot and whimpered.

"Tell you what," He said. "After I finish showing Angela around, I'll play with you for a while. How does that sound?"

The girl's face brightens. "Okay!" She agreed. With surprising agility, she climbed on to his back. The she twisted around to me. "Hiya! I'm Chloe. And Lukey's all mine." She added, possessively wrapping her arms around his neck.

"That's right." Luke reached up and tickled the girl. "So where's your cousin?"

"In the mines," Chloe said, breathless with laughter. She the shrieked and grabbed his hair. "Giddy up horsey!"

Luke neighed and 'galloped' away and I followed them, laughing. At the entrance of the mine, Chloe had to climb off of Luke because of the low ceiling. Inside, the mine was dark with only a few lanterns to light the place, but the small girl led the way fearlessly to a small opening in the ground. Meanwhile I not-so-fearlessly, stuck close to Luke as we descended to the next level. Surprisingly, Luke grabbed my hand again and I understood why when we reached the bottom. It was even darker on this level that on the first one. The ground was covered in stones of various sizes and weird crystal formations. As we made our way to the next set of stairs, I froze. Luke stopped as well.

"Angela, are you alright?" He asked glancing worriedly at me.

"I'm fine," I squeaked. "It's just that I don't like dark places."

"You're afraid of the dark?" Chloe snorts. "That's a dumb fear."

"I'm not afraid of the dark; I'm afraid of what's **in **the dark." I corrected. As if to prove my point, a loud continuous thud came from below us. I whimper and flinch into Luke.

He smiled comfortingly at me and pulled out a flashlight. "It's okay; I came prepared." He switched on the light and we continued on our way.

We descended a few more levels before coming across what was making the noise. This level was nearly empty besides 2 large fallen stone pillars and a large boulder that blocked the path. On the other side of this obstacle, I could see what looked like a monument of some sort and a set of stairs leading to more levels. The cause of the noise was a man who was repeatedly hitting the boulder with a hammer.

The man was big, taller that Luke and more muscular. We wore a black tank and dark red pants. He had red spikey hair and green eyes (**I can't exactly remember what color his eyes are… please help)**. Chloe ran and jumped on him.

"Owen, look who I brought to see you!"

The man stopped in his work and glanced at us. "Hey, Luke it's been a while."

Luke grinned. "Yeah, I've been busy." He pulled me in front of him. "I came down here to introduce you to Angela. Angela this is Owen, his Uncle owns the blacksmiths."

I smiled and shook his hand. His nearly crushed mine. "It's nice to meet you."

Owen nodded. "You too. Are you by yourself?"

"Oh no, my family just bought the vacant store in Harmonica." I explained. "I live there with my parents and siblings."

"In Harmonica huh?" He folded his arms. "So you've probably met most of the people there. Have you met a girl named Kathy? She works and lives in the bar with her dad."

"Yeah, I've met her, she's really nice too. Are you friends or something?"

Owen smiled proudly. "Actually, I'm her boyfriend."

Chloe giggled while Luke groaned. "Must you tell everyone that you're dating when you first meet them? It gets old after a while."

I blinked. "Kathy is you **what?"**

**/\**

**Kevin's P.O.V**

"Why does everything bad in this godforsaken town have to happen to me?" Kasey groaned slumping down on the couch. He had just been politely turned down by Kathy and informed that she was dating.

I smirked at him from the kitchen table. "Maybe this isn't such a bad thing. It's been a while since you've been single.'

You wouldn't know it by his appearance, but Kasey wasn't much of a player if he was dating. And he sucked at talking to girls when he was single. In fact the guy had no social skills with women and what he did have were cheesy pick-up lines that he got from movies and they almost never worked. There was however, a girl who enjoyed his dorkiness, Jill. She apart of out 'special' group and was a good friend of Angela and Molly. They dated for nearly 2 years before she broke it off, because she didn't like long distance relationships.

At the moment we were home, since Pap had gone to discuss business hours with Hamilton. We heard the door of shop open and we glanced at each other move first.

Finally, Kasey spoke. "Would you get that?"

I groaned. "You're such a pain sometimes." I entered the shop and was surprised to see Maya. "Can I help you with something?"

The girl seemed startled to see me and blushed. She then shoved a baggie in my hands. "I baked cookies for you! Bye!" She ran out the door before I could say thanks.

I blinked and scratched my head. What the heck was that about? I glanced at the cookies and yelped. Did she really expect me to eat these? They were burnt to a crisp!

/\

**Angela's P.O.V**

Waiting pack at the Carpenter's Shop was Dale and a boy I had yet to meet. The boy had short, spikey blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles. He wore a yellow t-shirt under a red vest and blue jeans.

"Yo Bo!" Luke grinned and wave. "Where've you been? I've looking for you all day so I could introduce you to Angie."

The boy glared at him. "I've been working on the mine cart that **you **were supposed to help me with."

"Oh," Luke rubbed the back of his neck. "Whoops."

The boy growled and stomped away while Dale sighed. "What am I going to do with you Luke?" He turned to me. "That was my apprentice, Bo; he's a good kid. Repairs are all done on those doors.

"Thanks," I said nodding my appreciation.

"It's funny though, the only thing wrong were a few loose screws, but I could've sworn they were tight when I did that check- up a couple of weeks ago. He shook his head and walked away as I froze.

Luke peered nervously at me. "Angie?"

"I'll kill them!"

\/

**STOP! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE CHAPTER THAN DON'T READ THE PAIRING JUST YET! GO BACK AND READ THE CHAPTER! ALSO IF YOU'RE WANTING TO BE SURPRISED THAN DON'T READ THIS!**

**BLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLO CKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKB LOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLCO KBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBL OCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCKBLOCK BLOCKBLOCKBLO!**

**Are you done? Good! Here's the pairings.**

**Angela and Luke**

**Molly and Chase**

**Kasey and Kathy**

**Kevin and Maya**

**I have a lot in store for these guy, especially Angie and Luke (and most of it has to do with a certain tan dancer *whistles innocently*).**

**Love it? Hate it? Please review and I don't mind if you criticize!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ugh, this took so much longer to get out than I expected. Sorry about that, but I had some stuff that came up…**

**Anyways when I got on Fanfiction yesterday and it said that I still only had 5 reviews I panicked, but I actually have more than that. Does the site usually mess up like this?**

**Thanks to all that reviewed the story so far!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon.**

**/\**

Today surprisingly, it wasn't Molly that woke me up with her very loud, very early morning routine. Oh no, it was of course, my mother.

"Wakey- Wakey, sleepy head!" She sang, as if I was still 6 and tugged the blanket off of me.

I groaned and turned on my side, tucking my head underneath my pillow. "I don' wanna."

I could imagine her, a frown on her face, one hand on her hip while the other lifted the pillow from my face. "You'll be late for your first last day of school though.'

I pouted. "So?"

She sighed and shook her head, before disappearing from my line of sight. I thought that this meant I had won this particular battle when someone grabbed me by my heel and forcefully dragged me from the bed. I blinked, standing up, and rubbed my sore bum and glanced at Mom who had a smug smile on her face.

"Up." She commanded firmly and then left.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to my closet, pulling on a pair of black shorts and a green 'Hug it Out!' t-shirt. I ran a brush through my hair before walking out into the kitchen. Molly was already up, cooking breakfast. She wore an orange blouse with blue flowers that hung off her shoulders over a white tank and white capris. Kevin was sitting at the table drinking coffee, since he refused to eat breakfast like normal people, wearing a green t-shirt and black gym shorts. Kasey soon walked in and slouched over at the table, wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans.

"What's with him?" I asked, poking my brother in the head.

Kevin glanced over at him and snorted. "Kathy."

I smiled and patted him on the head. _Aw poor guy. _As Mom and Frank walked in, Kasey shoved my hand away and glared. Molly placed a large plate of eggs and bacon on the table and we all sat down. Just as I was about to pop a forkful in my mouth, she yelped and jumped up.

We gave her a confused look as she ran out of the room. "We're going to be late!"

I glanced at the clock. "But it's only 7:45; we've got time."

She hurried out of the bedroom and tossed me my bag. "School doesn't start at 9 like it does in the city. It starts at 8!"

Several minutes later the house was empty besides Frank and Mom. "I knew there was a good reason for moving out here." Frank grinned and heaped a large helping of eggs on his plate.

**\/**

"How long do you think he's going to act like this?" Kathy asked, staring pointedly at my brother's back.

I rolled my eyes. "Just give him some time." I assured. "He'll find someone else to fall in love with eventually." We both giggled as Kasey's shoulders stiffened and his pace quickened.

Our attention shifted immediately to Maya and Kevin when she smiled shyly at him. "So did you like the cookies I made?"

Cookies? The 3 of us shared a look and slowed down, letting Maya and Kevin get ahead of us so we could eavesdrop on their conversation.

"They were okay…. I guess." Kevin said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Okay?! I guess?! Me and Molly glanced at each other again, this time with horror. Why didn't we teach this boy how to talk to girls sooner?

To our surprise though, Maya beamed happily. "So you liked them? Thank you!" She gave him a quick hug, before running off.

I grinned and wrapped my arms around Kevin. 'Aww! Looks like our wittle Kevin's got a crush!"

"Actually, I think it's more like crushee, Angie." Molly corrected, tossleing her brother's hair.

He frowned and pushed our hands away. "What are you talking about? Maya was just being nice."

"Being nice?" I snickered. "Kevin, she made you** cookies."**

"So?" He shrugged. "She was just being neighborly."

"Hmmm. Well let's see here." Kathy tapped chin. "Angie, did you get any cookies from Maya?"

"Why no, I didn't Kathy!" I grinned and turned to Molly. "What about you, Molly?'

"Nope. I didn't get any either."

"And Kasey certainly didn't get any."

We burst into giggles while Kevin blushed. "Sh-shut up."

/\

"Hello, I am Gill Hamilton, Class President and this is my vice president, Anissa Marimba. I'm here to welcome you and give you a tour of the school.

I blinked; was this guy for real? He had platinum blonde hair and light blue eyes and wore khaki pants, a white dress shirt, and a sweater vest. I mean really, who wore a sweater vest anymore? (Actually, I did but those were for cosplay purposes only… mostly) And the look on his face and his entire attitude was so serious and formal that you'd think her was about to show you the lost city of Atlantis.

Anissa had long dark brown hair and even darker eyes with a beauty mark to the left of one. Her skin was very pale, kind of making her look like a porcelain doll and wore a light green shirt and a long blue jean skirt.

Kathy rolled her eyes. 'You're a little late Gill. I gave them a tour of the school a week ago."

He frowned. "Students shouldn't be in the school unless it's during school hours, events, or picking up their schedules. Be lucky that it's the first day of school or I would have given you detention for that.'

Kathy scowled. "Oh come on! Last year, you complained about me never showing up on time, but now you want to gripe about me showing up early? Make up your mind sheesh!"

As the 2 started bickering, Anissa sent us an apologetic smile. "He isn't always like this. It's just that the first day of school is always hectic for him."

Molly nodded. "It's understandable." I snorted. No it's not. 'I'm Molly and this is my step-sister Angela."

I smiled politely. "Nice to meet you. And these are-" I glanced over my shoulder and frowned. "Our invisible brothers. Where did they go?"

Molly furrowed her eyebrows. "I hope they didn't get into any trouble."

"Don't worry, the school is relatively small and there are maps everywhere." Anissa assured us. "Plus, the students are very friendly."

"Oh that's not what we meant." I said laughing. "We actually meant that we hope that they don't **cause **trouble. You see, where ever Kasey and Kevin go they usually leave destruction and chaos in their path."

Molly nodded. "It's true.'

Anissa blinked. "Oh my."

Gill stopped arguing with Kathy for a moment to stare at me. "Are you being serious?"

I ignored his question and looked through the crowd of high schoolers to see if I could find the 2 missing people. Instead, I saw someone else. "I gotta go." I excused myself from the group and hurried over to the other person. I tapped Luke on the shoulder. "Guess who?"

He turned and grinned at me. "Hey Angie! How are those doors?"

I frowned. "They're stable now." My eyes narrowed as he snickered. "It's not funny!"

"You're right," He laughed. "It's freakin' hilarious!"

"Angela!" I turned to see Kathy grinning and walking over. I waved at her and smiled back when she suddenly stopped. She looked at Luke, and then at me, her face going from happy to confusion and then to anger. She stomped up next to me and glared at Luke. "What are you doing?" She hissed at him.

I widened my eyes at Kathy's behavior and was even more confused when she dragged me away. What just happened?

\/

**Molly's POV**

When Anissa offered to show me to 1st block, I gladly accepted. Usually, me and Angela had the same schedules, but this year I had taken art III while she had chosen Music Theory. I was one of the first ones there so I sat down and started writing down the objectives for the semester.

Several minutes later, someone cleared their throat and slammed their hand down on the desk. I glanced up at a girl with wavy blonde hair, green eyes and a big, sugary smile plastered on her face.

"Can I help you?" I asked politely.

"Well aren't you sweet." The girl cooed. "I'm assuming you're new, so you didn't know, but this," She gestured at the desk I was sitting at. "Is my desk. So I'm gonna have to ask you to move."

I glanced down at the desk and looked back up at her, frowning slightly. "I don't understand."

She blinked. "What don't you understand?"

"Why it's your seat.'

"Oh, well you see that desk?" She pointed to the desk next to me that was right by the door. I nodded. "That's the desk that Chase sits at. And since you probably don't know who that is; let's just say that I plan to make him a very important part of my life soon."

"Oh, well then that's good." I said relieved.

"What's good?" She asked her smile slipping.

"I don't have to feel bad about telling you no." I explained. "You see, your reasons for having this spot aren't very good so I don't see the point in moving."

Her smile quickly turned into a glare. "What do you mean no?!" She snarled.

"Oh for crying out loud, would you shut up already?" We both jumped, turning to look at the girl in the doorway. She had long pink hair in 2 pigtails with light blue eyes and wore a yellow sundress. The girl frowned and walked forward. "It's obvious that she's not moving, so go find another seat and quit bugging her!'

The blonde scowled before sauntering away. The pink haired girl sighed and glanced at me. "Don't let her get to you, she's like that to everyone."

I smiled and nodded. "Thank you.'

The girl waved it away. "No problem. You're the new girl, right?" I opened my mouth to answer but she continued. "Gran told me all about you; I'm Luna by the way. My gran owns the Tailoring Shop, you've already met her. So are you Molly or Angela?"

"I'm Molly." I answered quietly.

"It's nice to finally meet you!" She sat down in the desk next to mine and leaned over smiling. "You know, if you want, you can come over to my house and we can work on your little wardrobe problem." She whispered gesturing to my clothes. I frowned slightly and glanced down at them. What was so bad about them?

Just then, the bell rang and everyone, still standing sat down. To the right of me, someone took the seat that was supposedly for Chase, but I didn't even notice until the teacher cleared her throat.

"Late again." She said. "I hope we won't make this a habit this year too, Chase."

The guy at the desk smirked. He had peach blonde hair, with the bangs pushed out of his eyes with pins, and violet eyes and wore a white long sleeved shirt that was pushed up to his elbows and jeans. "Of course not, Mrs. Torgata."

A couple of girls giggled, Luna snorted, and I blushed and looked back down at my desk. I can see now why that girl wanted to sit by him.

/\

**Angela's POV 2****nd**** block Geomotry B**

_Are you gonna explain yourself?_

I waited until the teacher wasn't looking before throwing the note at Kathy. She rubbed the back of her head and turned to glare at me, before picking the note up and reading it. She quickly scrawled a response and handed it back to me.

_Explain what?_

I scowled at the paper and wrote again.

_You didn't have to be so mean to Luke, what did he ever do to you?_

I threw the note at her and she mumbled angrily under her breath. I smirked; sure I could have just handed her the note since I sat right behind her; but I was too mad to care.

"Angela, Kathy, is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class?" The teacher asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No sir." We chorused together, before glaring at each other.

When the teacher turned his back, Kathy mouthed 'I'll explain later' before turning back around in her seat to the front. I scowled at the back of her head and folded my arms. She'd better explain.

\/

"Well?" I said, waiting for Kathy's reasoning.

She looked around the hallway and frowned. "Not here." She grabbed me arm and pulled me into an empty classroom, shutting the door behind us.

"Okay, now tell me why you think Luke is such a bad guy." I said, leaning against the wall.

Kathy frowned again. "It's not what I think, it's what I **know**." She sighed. "I'm not even sure you even want to know."

I scowled. "Why not? I'll probably eventually hear about it anyways."

She groaned and shook her head. "Fine; you asked for it. You know Selena? That girl I told you about?"

"You mean that girl from the Island that's complicated?"

Kathy nodded. "Yeah, that one. You see, the thing is that… well, to put it simply, Luke knocked Selena up."

I blinked. "Luke's a FATHER?!"

/\

**DON'T KILL ME! *Runs away screaming***

**Ahem. Yes, I just went there. :)**

**I need a name for the 'mean' girl; I have a few but they're all boring. So if you could help me with that, I'd be very happy.**

**Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys sorry this took so long. My Mom got laid off at work or 'fired because she didn't work as hard' after her job hired like half a dozen younger people. Then my stepdad's hours were cut so we didn't have such a big income for a while. We had to make some choices and sadly our internet service and satellite had to be put off for a while… BUT, things have gotten better. My older brother has managed to get a job, my mom found a new one and starts working soon, and my sister also moved in and is currently working as well. While I have to babysit my nephew and niece it isn't so bad since I'm being paid!**

**Anyways, thanks to the reviews for this story, and thank you for your advice and suggestions! :) I also finally noticed the guidelines and according to them, I'm not allowed to use lyrics in this story, but don't worry I shall find a way to include music in this.**

**During the unexpected hiatus, I came up with some great story ideas and therefore some of the pairing have changed. I won't say who yet, but if you really want to know, please PM me and I can message you back the pairings. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon, only the plot of this story.**

**\/  
**

"So how does it feel to have a crush on a guy who's knocked some up?"

"Shut up Kasey."

"Ah, so you admit that you **do **have a crush on him then."

"I never said that!" I glared at my brother, who merely smirked at me before going back to eating his sandwich.

We were sitting in the school's courtyard, that also served as an outdoor cafeteria, during lunch with Kevin, Kathy, Owen, Maya, Anissa, and a few other people that Kathy quickly introduced us to. There was this girl named Luna, who had long pink hair tied into pigtails and wore a frilly yellow dress. She was kinda nice, when she wasn't commenting on my 'poor taste in clothes'. There was also another girl, Renee; she had short brown hair and large brown eyes and wore a pretty long yellow dress. She was sweet and has a very innocent nature about her.

"Well, I'm just glad I told you about Luke before you did anything stupid with him," Kathy tore a piece of bread in half and continued to shred it into tiny little pieces. She had barely said a word since we sat down, other than to introduce us to the 2 other girls.

"Luke isn't like that, Kathy," Owen said, defending his friend, "He may be dumb at times, but he's not a bad person."

"Oh really?" Kathy tossed the bread to the side, and half a dozen birds swept out of the sky to peck it up, "Then why didn't he have a problem with sleeping with my **best friend **and then **dumping **her right after?"

"Here we go again," Anissa sighed, while Renee shook her head.

Maya seemed completely oblivious to the storm that was brewing, "But I thought Luke didn't leave her until later on," She chirped.

"Oh, you're right Maya. It wasn't until after Luke found out that Selena was pregnant," Kathy sneered.

Owen frowned, "That's not right. Selena left for the islands; she didn't want Luke in the baby's life."

"Hmph," Kathy took a bite out of her sandwich and glared up at the sky.

I frowned, "But why would she do that?" I asked, "Luke has every right to see his kid!"

"Don't defend him, Angie," Kasey scowled, "You shouldn't get involved.'

"Yeah," Kathy agreed, "Because there's only one thing that guys like Luke want, and that's to get in a girl's-"

"Kathy!" Renee shrieked and clapped her hands over her ears. Luna giggled while her friend shot her an apologetic look.

**/\**

**Molly's POV**

I decided that instead of going with Angela and the others to eat, I'd go to the library and finish up some history work that I didn't finish in class. The last thing I wanted was to have to do homework on the first day of school.

It seemed that I wasn't the only person with that kind of mind set. Sitting at a table in the library were a few people that I recognized from around the school. There was Gill, that boy that Kathy didn't seem to get along with. Seated beside him was a girl with long blue hair, braided into 2 pigtails and wearing a white and blue sweater and skirt. Across from her was a guy with purple hair and different colored highlights, and wore red velvet pants, a very ruffley shirt, and a dark magenta jacket. Next to him was a guy I recognized from my last class, Toby. He had silver hair and wore a light blue shirt and white shorts. Gill was reading a book while Toby slept. The other two were talking to each other.

"I don't see why you don't wear anything I make for you, Candace dear," The boy sighed, glancing scornfully at her clothes.

The girl blushed and looked down at her hands, "I just don't think they would look good on me," She said, voice barely above a whisper, "They look too pretty for me to wear."

"That's absurd!" The boy snapped causing her to jump, "I made them just for you! They're **supposed **to make you feel pretty!"

"I-I know but-"

"Um, excuse me?" All heads, except for Toby's turned in my direction, causing me to blush, "I-I was just wondering if I could sit with you," I stuttered.

The girl smiled at me while the boy beamed; Gill went back to reading his book and Toby snored softly, "Why of course you can dear!" The purple hair boy patted the seat next to him and I shyly took it, 'I'm Julius by the way, and that's Candace,' He pointed at the quiet girl and then Gill, "And this is-"

"She already knows who I am," Gill turned a page in his book, "Me, Toby, and her have the same history class. There is no need for introductions."

Julius pouted, "Gosh Gill you can be such a spoiler!" He winked at us, "It's because he's the Mayor's son, I'm sure. He's letting it get to his head," He tapped the side of his head, causing us girls to giggle.

Gill stood up, "This is a place to read and study, not to discuss such trivial things. I'm afraid that if you cannot control such disruptive behavior, I will have to inform the teacher," He snapped before storming away.

Julius rolled his eyes, "Don't worry, Gill may be a lot of things, like stuck up, bossy, and a poor dresser, but he isn't a snitch."

"He's actually quite nice once you get to know him," Candace spoke up.

"That's my girl," Julius cooed, "You always see the good side of people no matter how nasty and rotten they can be, that's what I love about you."

I cleared my throat, "Pardon my asking, but are you two dating or something?"

Candace started to blush while Julius stiffened, "Of course not!" He snapped, 'What makes you think I'd want to go out with her?"

Candace's eyes widened and her lower lip started to tremble. He frowned when her eyes filled with tears, "I didn't mean it like that-" She stood up abruptly and ran away crying, "Candace!' Julius shouted running after her, "Candace, please wait!"

I blinked in confusion. What just happened?

**\/**

**Angela's POV Third Block**

My next class, cooking, I was looking forward to. For the first time today, me and Molly would be in the same class together.

"I hope your day has been better than mine," I sighed as I plopped down in the seat beside her.

Her lips quirked into a smile, "I guess you could say that. So have you seen that Luke boy today?" She asked.

"Ugh, I really don't want to talk about him right now," I groaned, resting my head in my arms.

Molly raised an eyebrow silently asking me what was wrong, but I shook my head, saying that I'd tell her later. Just then, the same exact person who I didn't want to talk to or see walked through the door.

"Crap," I groaned as Luke made his way to our table. Luckily, I spotted Maya and quickly waved her over. She slid into the last seat and he walked dejectedly by, "That was close," I breathed and turned to say something to Molly, but she wasn't paying attention.

I frowned and glanced in the direction she was staring. Two more people walked through the door. One was a boy with peach-blonde hair and dark purple eyes, while the other was a girl with blonde hair, green eyes and an attitude that screamed 'prep'.

"Who are they?" I asked Molly, but at this time the teacher waltzed in. Immediately I shut up and silently sighed in relief. At least right now Luke can't talk to me. I just hoped that the teacher doesn't do anything like-

"Hello class and welcome to Cooking 101! I hope you haven't gotten to comfortable, because I've got seating arrangements!"

Just my luck.

**/\**

**Kasey's POV The Boy's Lock Room**

"Alright, time to commence Operation: Date Kathy!" I shouted, pumping my fist in the air.

"You do remember that she's already dating someone."

I glared at Kevin, "I know that already. Which is why, the first part of this plan is to make Kathy dump Owen or vice versa. Now," I gave him an expectant look, "Any ideas?'

"Oh no you don't!" He shouted, waving his arms, "You are **not **dragging me into this. I prefer my face in one piece thank you very much!"

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes and turned away from him, "So what would make Kathy want to dump Owen?" I thought aloud.

The door opened and in walked said red-head, "What's taking you guys so long?"

I jumped a little and grinned nervously at the bigger guy. I had purposely kept Kevin behind so I could talk to him about the operation, "Oh nothing! We're on our way now."

"Good," Owen clapped me on the shoulder, "Just wanted to let you know that the Coach made us captains for today's basketball game. I hope you can put up a good fight."

"Oh don't worry," I assured him, while Kevin rolled his eyes, "I'll put up an **excellent **fight."

"Great," He grinned and held out his hand, "Then let the better man win."

I smirked back and shook his hand. _You have no idea._

**\/**

**Molly's POV**

I was unfortunately assigned to Chase's and Vanessa's, the rude girl from before, table. I sat in silence beside them while Vanessa flirted with Chase and he ignored her. I was relieved when the teacher gave us some worksheets to fill out. The work, she said, was supposed to be easy, so we didn't have to work with our partners.

The questions were pretty simple, like what's your name, what grade are you in, what's your favorite food, etc. The next sheet was a little harder. It basically tested us, to see how much we really knew about cooking. Luckily, I learned at a very young age how to cook, so this was practically an easy A for me.

Vanessa though, seemed to be having a little trouble. I considered helping her, but then I remembered the way she treated me earlier. I idly doodled on my paper while I waited patiently for her to finish.

"Pst, Chase!" She whispered, leaning towards the boy smiling sweetly, "Do you know the answer for number 7?'

He smirked back at her, "It's called a 'whisk' moron."

Her eye twitched, "Oh you're so funny!" She giggled, before asking another question.

Meanwhile, I was frowning. That wasn't the right answer. Was he doing that on purpose?

**/\**

**Angela's POV**

**Of course**, I was stuck with Maya and Luke. Maya, I didn't have a problem with; she was a sweet girl. Luke though would be a problem. I put Maya between us, so he couldn't talk to me, but that didn't stop him from staring, silently asking what was wrong.

When the bell rang, I darted out of the room, not even waiting for Maya or poor Molly, and dashed for the safety of my next class. Sadly, I wasn't fast enough.

"Hey, Angie wait up!"

I groaned, but did stop for him. After all, I was going to have to speak to him eventually, "Yes Luke?"

He stopped beside me, panting, "What's the matter?" He asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

I folded my arms, "So how's Selena?" I asked bluntly, answering his question.

Luke froze, "How did you know about that?"

I glared at him, "Kathy told me all about it; she also told me how you dumped her. Why didn't you tell me Luke?'

He groaned, "I was Angie! I just didn't-"

"Angela!" I glanced over my shoulder to see Kathy standing at the end of the hallway.

I sighed and turned back to him, "You need to fix this," I told him, "Then we'll talk."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys a quick update! Or at least quicker then some…**

**Thanks to all my reviewers so far! :)**

After school we went over to the Brass Bar for some nonalcoholic drinks to celebrate our survival of the first day. "It's on the house!" Kathy chirped cheerfully, in a much better mood now that she knew I was trying to avoid Luke.

Maya, Luna, Julius, and Candace also tagged along. I met Candace and Julius shortly after school when Molly introduced us. I was kinda shocked to learn that Candace and Luna were sisters, especially since Candace was so different from Luna, but I was relieved that she didn't make any comments on my 'choice of clothing'. Julius though, didn't seem to have a problem with voicing his opinion about my tacky shirt. I still kinda liked the guy since he seemed fun to hang out with. I noticed that he and Candace seemed to have some kind of relationship, although I wasn't quite sure what it was yet.

"So what happened to your face?" I asked nodding at Kasey who looked like he had ran into a brick wall.

"What happened to yours?" He snapped back, gingerly holding an ice pack to his swollen lips.

"Kasey got hit with the basketball," Kevin snickered, "Twice."

"I don't think sports is you quota," Molly said giggling as well.

"Shaddup,"

At this time Kathy pranced back, a large platter with our drinks balanced in one hand, "Here you go! Two Mountain Dews for Kasey and Angela, a Dr. Pepper for Kevin, a strawberry soda for Maya, a regular water for Luna, three sweet teas for Candace, Molly, and Julius, and then a Root Beer for moi," She sang, handing out the drinks.

"Ah, excellent service as always, Kathy darling," Julius teased playfully.

She smirked and slid into the seat next to mine, "Why, thanks Julius! I hope you'll tip good."

"Hey Kathy, did you hear about Kasey's run in with the basketball?" I grinned gesturing at my beaten brother.

She laughed, "Oh yeah, Owen said he's sorry, by the way. He didn't realize that you had no skill whatsoever at sports."

The rest of us start laughing while Kasey grumbled under his breath. All of a sudden the door opened and that Chase guy walked in. Molly's eyes widened and she ducked her head, flustered about something. Maya however, spotted the boy and smiled going to stand up.

Luna grabbed her arm, "Don't do it, Maya!" She hissed, "You'll just regret it."

Maya smiled assuringly at her friend before shaking her off. Confused, the rest of us watched her walk across the room to the newcomer.

"Hiya Chase!" She waved happily at the boy who had made his way behind the bar. Chase merely grunted back as he pulled pots and pans out of the cabinets and placed them on the counter, rolling up his sleeves. Maya cleared her throat, "So, I made you a cake, do you want to try some?" She pulled a piece of cake out of her backpack, how it didn't get smashed, I didn't know.

Chase sighed, "Look Maya, I'm not trying anymore of your disgusting creations, got it? The last time I did, Yolanda had to call the clinic because I was so sick."

The plate dropped to the floor with a clatter, the cake splattering everywhere. Maya's eyes filled with tears as she ran out of the room; Luna muttered angrily under her breath and followed her. Kevin frowned and stood up, about to say something, but another voice stopped him.

"That wasn't very nice," We all turned to see Molly glaring, yes, sweet innocent Molly, glaring at Chase.

The boy smirked at her, "Like I care. She hasn't left me alone for years. Her cooking is awful, but she expects to taste it and tell her it's good."

My sister stood up, "Still you could be a little nicer," She snapped, "Instead of telling her it's horrible you can try telling her what she did wrong."

Chase scoffed, "Even if I did tell her that, she won't stop bugging me."

"Has it ever occurred to you that she's just trying to be friendly?" Molly asked.

He blinked, "Well I – Just who are you anyways?"

"Chase, this is Molly and her sister and brothers, Angela, Kasey, and Kevin," Kathy said, "Their dad just bought that vacant store and turned it into a music shop."

"Hmph," He rolled his eyes, "That's nice, now if you can excuse me, I'd like to get back to work." He turned his back to us, while Kathy shook her head.

"My dad hired Chase to be a part time cook," She explained, "He's also an apprentice of Yolanda, Maya's grandmother.'

Kevin stood up, "I'm gonna check on Maya and make sure she's okay." He shot one last glare at the cook's back before walking towards the door.

"Right, you do that," I snickered, trying to lighten the mood, "And while you're at it, send Maya our _love_."

Kevin's shoulders stiffen as he turned to scowl at me, 'This doesn't mean anything Angie."

"Sure," Molly giggled as her brother stalked through the door, "And neither did those cookies."

Kasey blinked in confusion, "Am I missing something?" He asked.

The girls at the table, besides Candace, face palmed, while Julius chuckled softly. Even though my brother was 'girl crazy' I guess you could say, he was still pretty clueless. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure he's clueless in all fields of intellectual thinking… Just saying.

"So Angie dear," Julius leaned across the table, smirking, "When are you and your darling of a sister going to visit the tailoring shop? Those clothes are **way **to drab for you.'

I frowned slightly. Did he just insult the way I dress again? "I'm not too sure if we have the money for that just yet…"

"That's alright," Candace smiled softly, "You're friends of ours, so I'm sure that I can talk Gran into giving you a discount."

"Oh Candy!" Julius squealed, "How did our presence ever get blessed with an angel such as you?'

"Um," I tilted my head, "Are you guys-"

"Don't do it!" Molly shrieked, causing everyone to jump.

Kasey chuckled nervously, "Uh, are you okay sis?"

"Yes, I'm fine," She answered quickly, "So Kathy, when did Chase start working here?"

"Hmm," The blonde paused for a moment thinking, "Two months after her arrived, so about 2 years now. He doesn't live with his parents, so he has to provide for himself."

"No parents?" Molly glanced over at the cook, who was ignoring us, "What happened to them?"

"I dunno," Kathy shrugged, "He doesn't talk much about them to us. Actually he doesn't really talk to us at all. He's kinda a loner."

"Well that Vanessa girl seemed to like him," I pointed out.

She snorted, "Oh please. That girl can't decide who she likes. One moment it's Owen, and then it's Chase, she even had a thing for Gill once. Now that was a scary month," She shuddered lightly, "Just watch, she'll eventually go after Kasey or Kevin."

"Is that so?" My brother's eyes gleamed with something I know too well.

I frowned, "Don't even think about it."

"What are talking about Angela?"

Before I could answer the door swung open and in walked a certain amber eyed, blue haired carpenter, followed by Owen. Luke strode across the room to us, "Angie can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Uh…" My mind searched frantically for an excuse, but Kathy beat me to it.

"I thought I told you that you weren't welcome here Luke," The girl snapped.

"Yeah," Kasey sneered, "So beat it!"

Owen raised his hands in a calming gesture, "Come on you guys, he just wants to talk. At least hear him out Angela."

Luke gave me a pleading look while Kathy scoffed, "Whatever. I suppose it really isn't my job to tell Angie what she can and can't do."

"Well," I gulped, "I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Great!" Luke pulled me up and led me towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going with my sister?!" Kasey stood up shouting angrily, but Molly placed a hand on his arm.

"Let them go."

"But-"

"It'll be fine Kasey," Molly smiled assuredly at my brother.

**/\**

**Kevin's POV Outside the Inn**

It wasn't hard to find Maya, she and Luna hadn't gone very far. It also helped that all I had to do was follow the loud wailing sounds coming from the girl.

"Sh, Maya please!" Luna wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulder, trying to calm her down, "You shouldn't be crying over that jerk."

"B-but L-Luna, I worked so hard on th-that cake, and he d-didn't even try it!" She hiccupped.

"So? It just means that he's missing out, and why do you keep trying to get him to eat your food? He says the same thing to you every time."

"Because he's one of the only ones who tells me the truth," Maya whimpered, "My family sugarcoats it, even Gran. But with Chase, he tells me what he really thinks about it."

"But what's the point if he doesn't tell you how to fix it?" I asked.

Maya jumped a little when she sees me, "K-Kevin, have you been there the whole time?"

I shrugged, "Only for a little while. I haven't heard much."

"So what do you think?" Luna asked, "Do you think Maya's a bad cook?"

I scratched the back of my head, 'Well, I haven't tried any of her cooking yet," And then I remembered, "Oh! But I do have those cookies from this morning," I fished the baggie out of my pocket.

As soon as Maya sees the treat her eyes began to well up with tears again, "Please don't try those Kevin. I'm sure they're horrible."

"What are you talking about? They look fine to me," I tried to break one in half but couldn't. I frowned, dang, these things are hard. As I struggled with the cookie Maya started to cry and Luna glared at me.

"Way to go!" She hissed at me hugging Maya.

I sighed and chunked the cookies, "Look Maya, who cares if you can't cook? You're still a pretty nice girl."

She sniffled and blinked at me, "R-really?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I can't cook either but look at me," I spread my arms, "I'm perfectly fine."

A smile stretched across Maya's face and I grinned, happy that she had stopped crying. I was taken by surprise though, when she grabbed my hand, "Then let's learn together Kevin!"

I blinked, "Huh?"

**\/**

**Angela's POV The Dock**

_**Listen to Possibility by Lykke Li**_

"You know I used to come out here all the time with my pops before my mom died. We'd fish for hours, then walk home and she'd scold us for being gone for so long," Luke laughed, "We don't do that much now."

I sighed, "Please don't do that."

"Do what?"

I sat on the dock so that my feet hung over the edge, "Make me feel more sorry for you. It's hard enough trying to stay mad at you."

"Wait, so you **aren't** mad?" He sat next to me.

"Not really. I mean sure, I was a little ticked that you didn't tell me sooner, but other than that, I guess I'm okay," I swung my legs so that my feet skimmed across the water.

"I was gonna get to it but Kathy got ahead of me," He let out a sigh of relief and flopped back, "I'm glad that you aren't really mad at me. You're the first person besides Owen who understands. Even Bo thinks I used Selena."

I smiled, "Well it's not my place to judge. After all, not everyone can be a saint."

"And you don't even know the full story yet."

"And I don't need to," I shrugged, "Then again, it might help me understand this better."

"Are you sure?" He asked, "It's kinda a mouthful."

'Eh, I think we've got time."

"Alright then," He shifted around so that his arms dangled over the dock. "Back in the ninth grade, Selena talked her parents into letting her live here in Castanet for part of the year so that she could go to school like a normal student with the rest of us. She said that she didn't really like it on Toucan Island; she felt like she was imprisoned in paradise. Eventually her parents agreed on the condition that she come back home over the summer. Selena fit right in with the rest of us. She immediately became best friends with Kathy and she even offered to share her room with her. Selena was pretty much a tomboy back then, she always wanted to hang out with the guys and it was like a bomb went off every time you mentioned the word skirt. That's why I liked hanging out with her so much. She never got overemotional over anything, was practically fearless, and was more likely to punch you then kiss you."

"And then she went back to Toucan Island over the summer break. When she came back it was like a whole new Selena. All of a sudden the girl who was all elbows and knees turned into the woman with curves and I found out she was a **very **good dancer. She wasn't the girl I used to know, that all I wanted to do was be friends with. I was convinced that I was in love with her, so when I got my chance I asked her out. She of course, said yes."

"But our relationship wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. We began to fight, constantly and over the stupidest things. Selena would get jealous if I were even to look at a girl and accused me of cheating. We were turning into people that weren't us. Every week it seemed we would break up only to get back together the next day. We thought that if we took things further it would make things better but it only made it worst."

"It was during one of the times we were together that Selena told me she was pregnant. But then she told me that she was moving back to the island because she didn't think I would be a good father, and didn't want me in the baby's life. I got furious with her and said some things that probably proved her point. After that, she refused to talk to me and moved back to Toucan Island a few months later. And I haven't seen her since," He finished.

"So you haven't even tried to get a hold of her yet?" I asked.

Luke ran a hand through the water, "What's the point? Selena's right, I don't know the first thing about taking care of a kid. According to the Doc, Selena's given birth by now and the baby is probably living a happy life. Why should I ruin it for them?"

I rolled over on my stomach so I was eye to eye with him, "Luke, listen to me right now," I said calmly, 'When I was a kid my dad walked out on us. I've spent my entire life wondering why, was it because of me? Did I do something wrong? Was it because he didn't love me or Kasey? Don't get me wrong, I love my new family to pieces and wouldn't trade them for the world. But I'm always gonna wonder why it's Frank that's waiting for me at home and not my real dad. Do you really want that for your kid?"

"Not really," Luke sighed, "But how can I talk to Selena? It's not like I can walk up to her doorstep and not expect her parents to kill me."

"So then call her," I suggested.

'Yeah if only it wore that easy," He snorted, "The moment she knew it was me, she'd hang up."

"Well," I sighed, frustrated, "We figure out a way to make her listen."

"Are you sure you want to help me out?" He asked propping himself up on an elbow.

I grinned at him, "Of course I do, what are friends for?"

…

"Thanks, Angie,"

**HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: One last chapter before the holidays. :) Hope you enjoy! **

I knew something was wrong the moment I woke up and it was on my own. No loud radios, no obsessive morning rituals, and no mothers dragging me out of bed. Slowly I sat up and looked around me; Molly was already gone, her school bag which usually hangs from the closet door was missing. I got up and pulled on a white tank top, blue jeans, and a denim jacket and then poked my head out the door.

Mom was curled up on the couch, writing in her notebook, "Where is everybody?" I asked.

She jumped a little and looked at me in surprise, "Angela, honey what are you still doing here? You're going to be late for school!"

"Huh?!" I glanced at the clock. _Not again! _I grabbed my backpack, "Bye Mom!" I shouted, running past her and into the store.

Frank was behind the counter. He smiled and waved as I ran past, "Bye sweetheart, have a good day at school. And don't forget you're working today!"

I paused at the door, hand on the knob, and turned to stare at him mouth agape, "What?"

**/\**

"This is so unfair!" I whined kicking my locker. Unfortunately, instead of getting the satisfaction of beating up a poor unmoving object, I wound up with a sore toe.

"What's unfair, the fact that you have lunch detention or that you have the first shift at Dad's store?" A smirking Kasey walked towards me, followed by Molly and Kevin.

I scowled at my brother, "A little bit of both actually. And why do I have a feeling that you had a part in this?"

"Who me?" He pretended to be hurt, "What makes you think I would tell Frank that you love working in the store or turn off your alarm clock? After all, you haven't done anything to me, like make fun of me because of the Kathy ordeal."

"You're a jerk," I sniffed.

Molly hung her head, "I'm sorry Angela. I should have checked to make sure you were awake.

I shrugged, "Eh, I'm not really mad, except at Kasey maybe. And besides, it's not like they gave me actual Detention because I was late."

Kevin nodded, "You were lucky," He said, "I heard that after school detention lasts a couple of hours and I'm not too sure that Dad would be pleased with you being late for work."

"Don't remind me," I groaned.

**\/**

**Molly's POV Lunch**

I wanted to go with Angie to detention so she didn't have to be alone, but she insisted that I go eat with the others. I was a bit sad by this, since I had wanted to talk to her about Luke and what happened yesterday. Sadly, I hadn't had the chance to ask about it yet.

But I walked out to the courtyard anyways. Today me, Kathy, Owen, Julius, and Anissa sat under a large oak tree a little ways from the school.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" I fretted, nervously twisting my hands.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. Besides there will be other people that got DH too, so it's not like she'll be alone," Kathy pulled a small pizza out of her lunchbox and gave a piece for each of us. Anissa however, politely turned hers down.

"I had a big breakfast," She explained at our questioning glances.

"I feel bad for Angie though," Julius took a bite out of his pizza, 'They don't allow food in the detention room."

"Not to change the subject, but how are you and Candace, Julius?" I asked, "I noticed that you were both at the bar yesterday."

"Oh that?" Julius waved his hand, "Candy merely misunderstood me that's all. The girl takes things way too seriously."

"Well maybe if you would quit playing with her emotions, she wouldn't overreact," Kathy scowled at the purple haired boy.

He shrugged, "Candace should know by now that I mean no harm. I really think she's a nice girl, but I don't want to be with someone that's no fun."

"But if you take things too far, you may wind up getting both of you hurt," Anissa reasoned.

"Hey guys, look," Owen pointed at something over our shoulders.

I glanced behind me to see Chase sitting at a picnic table alone, "Why is he sitting by himself?" I asked.

Kathy shrugged, "Beats me. Usually Vanessa is following him around like a lost puppy," She raised an eyebrow when I stood up, "Where are you going?"

"Isn't it obvious? To invite him to eat with us," Before she could protest, I hurried away to the lone boy, "Excuse me," He glanced up, looking surprised that I was standing there, "I was just wondering if you'd like to sit with us," I offered.

Chase's surprised look quickly morphed into a sneer, "What makes you think I'd want to eat with you?"

I shifted uncomfortably and tugged at the edge of my skirt. I was starting to regret coming over here. _Would it kill him to be nice? _"It's not just me, it's me friends too."

"You mean with them?" He glanced over my shoulder at the group under the tree, "I think I'd rather eat glass."

I snapped. I slammed both hands on the table and glared at him, "Listen pal, I didn't come over here to listen to you insult me or my friends. I was willing to look over what happened yesterday and the way you treated Maya, but the way you're acting, I don't think I can. It's no wonder no one wants to be around you! You're mean, rude, cocky, and quite frankly, _**I don't think I like you at all!**_"

After my little outburst, silence fell across the courtyard and then I realized that half the school was staring at us. Chase just sat there, kinda shell-shocked while my eyes widened and I blushed furiously, "Umm…"

He stood up and stormed away before I could say anything, and instantly I felt awful. Silently, I slunk back to the others and sat down beside Anissa, "And now I feel like crap," I moaned, burying my face in my hands.

**/\**

**Kevin's POV**

"Why are we here again?" I asked glancing around us. I could count the number of time I'd been in a school library on one hand and most of them had been for a project of some sort.

Maya folded her arms behind her back and giggled, "For a cookbook silly!"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, "Maya, your grandmother is a cook. Don't you think she would own a cookbook?

The girl pouted, "Of course she does! But I've tried all of her recipes like, a bazillion times, but they never turn out right."

"Did you follow all the instructions?"

Her eyes widened, "You're supposed to follow all of them?!'

I groaned and shook my head, "That's it, I'm leaving," I turned to walk out but Maya grabbed my arm.

"Kevin wait!" She pleaded, "Please, I want to learn how to cook, but I don't think I can do it on my own. I need you."

For some reason I felt a faint heat evade my cheeks. I shook my head, "Alright fine. But you have," I glanced at the clock, "15 minutes. Unless you want to miss lunch."

"This is cutting into our lunch time?!"

**\/**

**Angela's POV**

Well at least I wasn't the only one in lunch detention.

"Wait a minute, I thought you liked music. So why don't you want to work in your stepdad's music store?"

I glanced over at Luke, who was sitting in the desk next to mine, "I hate working there because I'm not allowed to touch the merchandise," I explained, "Plus I'm usually the one dusting, wiping the windows, sweeping and all the customers treat the instruments so carelessly!" I shuddered, "It's awful!"

Luke frowned, "So why don't you just-"

"Be quiet back there!" The monitor snapped. Can you guess who it was? Why, Mr. I-think-I'm-boss-cause-my-daddy-is-the-Mayor-Gill of course! I glared at the sweater vest cladded boy over the sea of other unfortunate students that were late for class today.

"I don't want to upset Frank," I whispered to Luke. "He's so proud of the shop and works so hard. He thinks working there is some big honor. I don't want to hurt him by saying that I hate working there."

He tilted his head, "So what if you happened to find another job? Do you think he would let you work there instead?"

I frowned, "I don't know. I've never thought about it. Why do you know of a place that's hiring?" I asked.

He grinned and stood up, "I think I might. Sorry Angie, but I've gotta go!" He ran out of the room before I could stop him.

Gill stood up and sputtered angrily, "This is going on your record Luke!"

**/\**

**Kasey's POV Hallway**

_Where is that girl? _I peered around the corner, yet again to see if Veronica or Victoria or whatever her name is, was walking down the hall. According to my sources, (AKA a freshman) the girl usually spent 15 minutes during lunch in the bathroom doing her makeup and then went off in search of Chase. But it had been at least 20 minutes now and **still **no sign of her. I wander if I'm waiting outside the wrong bathroom…

"Ahem," I turned to see that pink haired girl from yesterday, the one who's apparently Maya's best friend.

"Oh, hi Lulu!" I grinned and waved.

The girl scowled and crossed her arms, "It's Luna and what are you doing here? Students aren't supposed to wonder around the school during lunch hours."

"Yeesh, you sound just like Gill. What are you going to do, tell on me to the Class President?"

Ooh, that didn't sit well with her. She turned a shade darker than her hair, "I'll have you know, that it just so happens that I'm the Sophomore Class President," She spat, "So I can give you DH for being in the school during lunch."

"Jeez, take it easy!" I snickered, "I'm just waiting for someone to come out of the bathroom and then I'll be out of your way."

Luna frowned and pushed past me into the bathroom. A few minutes later she walked back out and glared at me, "There's no one in here," She snapped, "Now leave!"

"You mean she's already gone?" I shook my head, "Well that's too bad. Thanks anyways Lulu," I smirked and walked away.

"That's not my name!" She shouted after me.

**\/**

**Angela's POV**

"And then he just ran off!" I complained to Molly, "He wasn't even in Cooking Class today!"

The school day had ended and we were walking back to the house. "Maybe he had to go do something," My sister suggested.

I frowned, "Still, it was pretty careless of him.

Molly blinked, "Um Angie…"

"I mean, he even didn't sign out at the office! He could get in trouble for that!"

"Angela-"

"Does he want to get expelled?"

"Not really, but I had other things to do so…"

I jumped and whirled around to glare at Luke, "Don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," He grinned, "I know you've got work today, but do you think you could come with me? I wanna show you something."

"Um, well…" I glanced over at Molly.

She smiled back, "Don't worry. I can cover for you for a little while."

"Okay, but-"

"Let's go!" Luke shouted, dragging me away.

**/\**

"So, do you think this will solve your problem?"

The place Luke brought me was a mess. Three lone buildings sat on top of the hill. The first one, which I assumed was a house, had 2 stories and several large holes in the roof. The door hung at an angle on its hinges and all of the windows were either cracked or completely gone. The other 2 buildings were too rundown for me tell what they were supposed to be, but both had opened doorways. We were standing in what I think used to be a field, littered with stones, braches, and weeds. In the upper right corner were a couple of sickly looking trees, that didn't even look like they were even good for firewood. All in all, the so called farm looked like it had been abandoned for several years and it looked like it would take a while to get it up and running.

"It's perfect."


End file.
